McPherson Touring vs Sable
 

Hi Everyone,

With all the Sable talk ....I have been looking to expand my herd to another McPherson. I am sold on there all business design and sound. With that said I have a touring (standard weave all blacked out) and the scale works fine for me and really enjoy the sound. Was wondering what I was missing with a larger Sable or just get a second Touring with the cool honeycomb weave with satin silver tuning pegs they now offer. Hard to tell from youtube.


What are the sound differences since there are no dealers in my area of McPherson... and everything is in lock down. For those who own both.... or played both... outside of the scale differences ...what are the sound differences... is the Sable louder and more bass? Is the sound difference worth the additional price/performance all things being equal.

BTW.. I called McPherson and asked if they were working on a 12 string and they said no... having enough trouble keeping up with demand for the Touring & Sable orders :-)


Thanks for your help!!

I'm pretty sure Tbeltrans and Kramster have both and I'm sure they'll chime. I haven't played a Touring but I'm completely floored by my recently acquired Sable. I can't seem to put it down. I'm sure its louder than a Touring and probably has a deeper low end. When I A/B the Sable against my dreads, it's not as loud but the tone is thicker and I miss it when I play a dread if that makes sense. You will not be disappointed with a Sable I can almost guarantee it!

Thank you GuitarLuva.... I am trying to avoid my past experiences with Composite Acoustics. Back in the day my first CF was a Cargo. Loved the sound ... playability ...ect. I was wondering what I was missing with a full size guitar and needed a second guitar so purchased the CA OX. A good instrument but for some reason never bonded with the sound and wound up selling it 6 months latter. Sometimes designs do not translate to a scaled up version... so curious on price to sound performance. :-) if there is such a thing hahahah

In some ways ... the Touring has it easier... it clearly punches above it's size given the size to sound quality ratio. When you get to a full size guitar expectations change .. and there are alot more options :-)

I have tried to A/B test via youtube but can not hear a difference between the two even with headphones on.... really not a fair test.

No problem. You could also ask McPherson about the differences I'm sure they could advise you.

As was mentioned, I am among those (kramster, ???) who has both. To me, the Sable is a bigger Touring. I can't say it is much louder, but that could be because I use D'Addario EJ-16 strings on the Touring and Elixir HD Lights Nanoweb coated strings on the Sable.

One thing I will say is that with both the CA Guitars Cargo and the McPherson Touring, there does not seem to be a compromise in the sound. You won't get that "boxy" sound that is typical among many parlor type wood guitars. So, to me, you get a bigger sound on the Sable.

Compared to the Touring, the Sable feels big and deep. It is the same size as the wood Camrielle, which is smaller than the standard McPherson wood guitar. It is a rather heavy guitar too. I use the strap so it doesn't bother me. If I do set in my leg, it doesn't slide around because of the textured back and sides and its solid weight and feel.

I suppose you could just say there is more to love with a Sable. I should have been in marketing. :)

You can't go wrong with either one, and one (or two) of each is always better. I wouldn't want to have to make a choice for one over the other.

Tony

I had a touring and sold it, still have my Sable. The touring was nifty, light, and it did Guitar Stuff well for a small package. If you REALLY need small size, it's a good choice.

I found that I got annoyed by its small size and the short scale length, and the extra bulk of a full-size guitar was well worth it to have the larger frame, body, and sound.

Agreed. Since I no longer travel except by car or camper, there is no need for a "little" guitar. Our Cargo and the bubinga X7 woody will eventually be up for sale. (My wife will always need her koa X7). A full sized guitar is just more.... fun to play, for me. ;)

Thanks everyone for their feedback. Will definitely hold off any purchases till I have a chance to play a Sable.

Thanks Kramster....I would welcome the sonic diversity! Now just waiting for the annual guitar center 20% off coupon ��. Given the wonderful set up and multiple saddles McPhersons come with, there is little risk of needing custom set ups by dealer. Gotta love McPherson!

Hi Earl49,

Thank you for your feed back. Given the sound quality of the touring think of it more of a O size guitar or parlor guitar. I really enjoy artist who play smaller guitars like Sting or Sheeran. I have smaller hands and really have to stretch for some of those complex chord Sting likes to use :)

Fixedgear, I am a big guy but do not have unduly large hands - and those hands are not getting any younger. My petite wife finds the X7 version 2 (forward facing sound hole) to be a perfect fit, but papa bear does not especially like playing mama bear's guitar. The X20 fits me perfectly, but the X30 not so much. My focus is now on short scale guitars to make fret reaches easier, but I still like the sound of larger guitar bodies. Due to shoulder issues, I have abandoned dreadnoughts in favor of smaller bodies and cannot rest any guitar on my right leg. I've made adaptations to my technique, including using a strap and always playing seated. That lets me keep the guitar centered comfortably on my body, reducing stress in shoulders and wrists. I even play from classical position (guitar on left leg) when needed. We all do whatever we have to do to keep playing.

My limited time playing McPherson CF guitars has left me duly impressed, but I have more carbon guitars than I could ever need. So Touring and Sable are not really on my radar despite their good reputation, especially considering that there is no opportunity to play one locally and bond with it.

PS: As a now inactive pilot myself, I love your forum handle! The "49" in mine comes from my time living and flying all over Alaska (the 49th state).

Ok sneaky Kramster I just noticed that the Sable is no longer in your signature. The last bit of detective work I did on you regarding the X30 turned out to be correct. My senses are picking up a new incoming Sable Gold Honeycomb...

Hmmm...keen eye there...

Wait..what?? Who...when? I'm a sneakster?? I will investigate ...well after I eat stuff and take a few naps and go pull some weeds..then get to the top of this!!